Honorable Mention 2:Henry Melton-DL-Texas-Round
4 2009: This one will depend on whether Melton's flashes of brilliance continue
or regress. Melton was a former running back that was converted to defensive
end in college. Drafted as an end, Melton was switched to three-technique
tackle in 2010 and began to blossom. The replacement for Tommie Harris in Lovie
Smith's most important defensive position, Melton opened the 2011 season as the
starter and registered two sacks against the Atlanta Falcons. Then his play
went up and down through the season, in which he finished with seven sacks.
Time will tell if Melton never realizes his potential or becomes a star.

Honorable Mention 1:Mark Anderson-DE-Alabama-Round
5 2006: Anderson merited Defensive Rookie of the Year honors in 2006 when he
finished with 11 sacks as the third defensive end. Thrust into a starting role
the following season, Anderson was overmatched and did little until being
released by the Bears early in the 2010 season. He bounced around for several
seasons before again making an impact in 2011 with the New England Patriots,
again in a rotational role. He is now a Buffalo Bill, having signed a lucrative
contract as the starter in 2012. Now Buffalo will find out if Anderson is
capable of excelling in a starter's role. Glad this determination will not be
made on Chicago's dime. Anderson would have made this list if he had more than
one year of success with the Bears.

11. J'Marcus Webb-LT-West Texas A&M-Round
7 2010: As of this writing prior to the 2012 season, Webb is a very mediocre
starting left tackle. But finding even a mediocre starting left tackle in the
draft's final round is still pretty good. The Bears heavily scouted Webb as a
potential sleeper late in the draft, and seeing that Webb has started almost 30
games in two seasons, regardless of overall talent, this was a pretty good
pick.

10. Earl Bennett-WR-Vanderbilt-Round 3 2008:
Bennett's rookie season was spent as a virtual redshirt when he failed to catch
a single pass. In 2009 following the arrival of Jay Cutler, he started 15 games
and caught 54 passes for 717 yards and two touchdowns. The emergence of Johnny
Knox in 2010 moved Bennett to a subordinate role, but this was when Bennett
emerged as a heady (if not flashy) playmaker. Despite only starting three
games, he virtually matched is 2009 numbers with 46 receptions for 561 yards
and three touchdowns. In 2011 Bennett missed much of the season with an injury,
but earned himself a nice contract extension. Bennett is by no means a number
one receiver in the NFL, but he remains a solid receiver the Bears should be
able to count on for several years if his contract doesn't make him expendable.

9. Tommie Harris-DT-Oklahoma-Round 1 2004: In
Lovie Smith's first season, the Bears desperately needed a prototypical
three-technique defensive tackle since they were switching from Greg Blache's
one-gap system. It seems as if the Bears had some luck when top talent Harris
slipped to the Bears' 14th overall selection. Harris was a stud from the
beginning, making the Pro Bowl from 2005-2007. But following a massive torn
hamstring injury in 2006, he was never the same. It was later revealed that
Harris may have dropped to the Bears in the draft because he had been taken off
many teams' draft boards entirely due to evaluators' concerns about his
propensity for injury. Following pedestrian seasons from 2008-2010, Harris was
released. In just his eighth season, Harris doesn't look to have anything left
in his tank.

8. Nathan Vasher-CB-Texas-Round 4 2004: and
Chris Harris (S-Louisana Lafayette-Round 6 2005): Had to go with a combo here.
Vasher and Harris were both defensive backs with talent that slipped to Angelo
in later rounds of the draft. Both had shining moments (a Pro Bowl for Vasher
in 2005, second-team All Pro for Harris in 2010), then both totally flamed out.
Vasher started 35 games in his first three seasons and compiled eight
interceptions in 2005. Then he was injured in 2007, missing 12 games, and was
never the same. The Bears gave him a final shot at starting in 2009 but he was
a disappointment prior to his release from a large contract. Harris was an
above-average safety but not great at coverage. Solid in his first two seasons,
he was traded to Carolina to make room for the failed Adam Archuleta experiment
in 2007. Then prior to the 2010 season the Bears traded linebacker Jamar
Williams to bring Harris back. I'd have to check but I'd be surprised if the
Bears have ever traded a player than traded again to bring him back.
Regardless, after a strong 2010 season Harris entered the team's dog house the
following year and was cut during the season.

7. Johnny Knox-WR-Abilene Christian-Round 5
2009: Knox was selected with a throw-in fifth round pick that came back to the
Bears from Denver in the Jay Cutler trade. Knox seemed to be on the bubble
prior to final cuts that season, then had a monster final preseason game. In
his rookie year he made the Pro Bowl as a kick returner and became nationally
known while a ballboy chased him all the way down the field during his kickoff
return for a touchdown. Despite being small and not very physical, he has been
the Bears' most prolific receiver since he joined the team. The only
unfortunate part of making that statement is that with the Bears, that isn't
saying much.

6. Alex Brown-DE-Florida-Round 4 2002: At
face value when this pick was made, this probably looked like what would become
a standard Jerry Angelo draft pick (a reach and a failure). Brown was
considered by evaluators to have plenty of talent and potential, but he was
thought to have been a lazy player in Florida who took plays off. The Bears had
failed to find a consistent defensive end in the draft going all the way back
to Trace Armstrong in 1989, so I figured this had every liklihood to follow the
same path. But Brown responded by becoming an early starter, and consistently
throughout his eight-year Bears career became just a notch below a Pro Bowl
player. He ended up starting 107 of 127 total games in Chicago and notched 45.5
sacks. Remarkably for a lineman, Brown even snagged five interceptions. Great
pick, great guy, glad to have his name on the Bears History rolls.

5. Kyle Orton-QB-Purdue-Round 4 2005: Since
the early 1990's, the Green Bay Packers have consistently drafted late-round
quarterbacks that have become starters around the NFL (Ty Detmer, Mark Brunell,
Aaron Brooks, Matt Hasselbeck, and soon Matt Flynn). Jerry Angelo? Like his
attention to the offensive line, there always was little to the backup
quarterback position. He signed an aged Chris Chandler to back up rickety Jim
Miller in 2002, and saw his actions implode on him in 2004 when Rex Grossman
suffered a season-ending injury. Angelo's backup plan that season was Jonathan
Quinn, who was a disaster only to be rivaled by the Caleb Hanie debacle in
2011. So in 2005 Angelo selected Orton to be the eventual longterm backup to
Grossman. Little did he know that another injury to Grossman would make the
rookie his game one starter. (This only happened after Angelo's first choice,
the sucky Chad Hutchinson, embarassed the team in a preseason game). Orton was
a marginal starter in 2005 but coupled with the Bears' best defense since 1985,
the Bears made the playoffs. Orton then was the forgotten man from 2005-2007,
but again became a slightly above average NFL starter in 2008. In fact it has
been said that were it not for the Bears being able to offer Orton as a part of
the Jay Cutler trade, Cutler may be in Washington or somewhere else right now.
Chicago made a strong push to bring Orton back in 2011 following his release by
Denver, but couldn't make the waiver claim happen.

4. Matt Forte-RB-Tulane-Round 2 2008: As of
2008, the Bears had busted out in drafting running backs going all the way back
to the late 1980's. The selection of Neal Anderson (first round 1986) was a
home run even though his career fizzled after his sixth season. Brad Muster
(first round, 1988) was a nice compliment to Anderson, but he didn't stay
healthy and was done after just five seasons. Rashaan Salaam (first, 1995) was
a bust. Curtis Enis (fifth overall, 1998) may have been the worst of the whole
bunch. Anthony Thomas (2nd, 2001) made Rookie of the Year and was dependable,
but wasn't flashy and did nothing after leaving Chicago on a four-year career.
Then the Bears swung a home run by signing Thomas Jones in free agency in 2004,
then astonishingly selected Cedric Benson with the fourth overall pick in the
draft in 2005. Benson was drafted despite many red flags, and due to his high
selection he was retained and Jones traded prior to the 2007 season. Benson's
performance was underwhelming in 2007 as the load back, so Angelo selected
Forte in 2008 as insurance. When Benson got himself arrested twice in the 2008
offseason, the Bears found themselves with Forte as their rookie starter as
Benson was cut. Forte responded by rushing for 1,200 + yards, caught 63 passes
and scored 12 total touchdowns as a rookie. Following a down sophomore season,
he bounced back in 2010 with 1000+ rushing yards, 9 touchdowns and 51
receptions. 2011 was his best year of them all until he badly sprained a knee
ligament. At the time Forte led the league in yards from scrimmage. Prior to
the injury in the twelfth game of the 2011 season, Forte had started every game
of his career (60 straight). That was nothing short of Walter Payton-esque. As
of this writing, Forte is designated the Bears' franchise player, but threatens
to hold out for a franchise running back contract. Absolutely one of Angelo's
best picks.

3. Charles "Peanut" Tillman-CB-Louisana
Lafayette-Round 2 2003: Several corners were rated higher in the 2003 draft
than Tillman. Five corners were selected before him: Terence Newman, Marcus
Trufant, Andre Woolfolk, Sammy Davis and Nnamdi Asomugha. Who else would anyone
take over Tillman in their tenth pro year other than Asomugha? Probably nobody.
Tillman became a starter during his rookie year and despite suffering numerous,
continual and degrading injuries, he has only missed 14 games in nine NFL
seasons. The thing about Tillman is his play has never declined to this point.
"Peanut" may not have the speed or big-play ability that some other corners
have. But he is physical, reliable, durable, and leads the NFL in forced
fumbles since 2003. In the author's opinion, there has been an overall dearth
of talent at the cornerback position in the Bears' storied history. Indeed I
told the Sun-Times in 2011 that in my opinion, Tillman is the best Bears
cornerback since 1977. This man will definitely find himself in the
BearsHistory.com Chicago Bears Ring of Honor when his playing days are over.
Let's hope that doesn't happen for a few more years.

2. Devin Hester-KR-Miami-Round 2 2006: Hester
probably slipped in the 2006 draft because he never found a position at Miami.
He played some at cornerback, some at receiver, but excelled at neither
position. But he was a dynamic kick returner, bringing back six kicks in
college for touchdowns. Since the Bears were already a playoff team in 2005,
Angelo probably felt he had the flexibiliy to take Hester on his dynamic
special teams ability alone, even if he never excelled at a regular position.
And did Angelo's gamble ever pay off. As a rookie, Hester returned three punts
and two kickoffs for touchdowns. His punt return for a TD at Arizona on Monday
Night Football won the game for the Bears. Again on MNF later in the season at
St. Louis, he returned two kickoffs for touchdowns in the same game. During the
2007 season, Hester returned four punts and two kickoffs for touchdowns. He was
moved from cornerback to receiver by the Bears in 2007, but still has not
distinguished himself. In 2008 he signed a big-money contract extension basing
his pay on his receiving stats, then suffered through two seasons without a
return touchdown. But he roared back in 2010 and 2011, scoring three touchdowns
on returns in each season. Hester is now the NFL's all-time leading kick
returner in terms of total touchdowns. Hester should be a shoo-in for the Pro
Football Hall of Fame for his return skills. Jerry Angelo might have taken heat
for overall poor drafting, but he hit a home run for the ages with this
gambling pick.

1. Lance Briggs-LB-Arizona-Round 3 2003: What
makes the Briggs pick even more fortuitous is that Briggs was drafted for Greg
Blache's defensive system one year before Lovie Smith's arrival. Smith's base
cover two defense relied heavily on a dynamic tackler to man the weak side
"will" linebacker, and although Briggs became a solid starter as the strong
side linebacker during his rookie year, he excelled as the will linebacker when
Smith arrived. By Briggs' third year he was an NFL All Pro, and following the
2011 season he had been selected as a Pro Bowl talent by his peers for seven
consecutive seasons. Regimes prior to Angelo's (Dave Wannstedt/Mike McCaskey,
Mark Hatley) failed to draft Pro Bowl players at any position by and large, so
by snagging a perennial Pro Bowl player in the third round, Briggs became
Angelo's best draft pick in his ten years as General Manager of the Chicago
Bears.